“In fourteenth-century Holland, Haarlem was the most important brewing city. From its 110 breweries beer was shipped all over the world in large 112 liter barrels called ‘Jopen.’ Thanks to its high quality, the beers from Haarlem were very popular; its Gruit beer in particular. At the time it was even the most consumed beer in Antwerp. Sadly, due to the rise and dominance of lager breweries, Haarlem’s rich brewing tradition was lost when in 1916 the last brewery closed its doors.

In 1994, inspired by all this brewing history and troubled by the loss of all the historic breweries, a group of enthusiastic locals (Haarlem Beer Society) set out to recover Haarlem’s brewing tradition.Valuable information was retrieved from the city archives, including the incredible find of two original recipes from 1407 and 1501. The choice was quickly made to brew these beers as the start of Haarlem’s Brewing Renaissance. On 11 November 1994, the city’s 750th anniversary is heralded with the younger beer, called ‘Hoppenbier.’ The start of Jopen!”